Scent
by Pepin-Bones
Summary: Many things changed during the year that Fairy Tail was disbanded. Natsu expected them to - he was gone a year after all. He just didn't expect Lucy's scent to be one of them.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I write this with more than a little bit of shame (runs and hides in a corner, burying my face). Guess this is what happens when trying to garner some inspiration for stories that need finishing (such as Fear and Trouble). I've gotten to the end of the 2014 anime, but not the manga. Although I've seen/heard a lot of spoilers, this may not be 100% accurate, so don't hate on the discrepancies if there are any, please! I'll fix them as I find them, if they exist. Your favorites and comments feed my writer's soul, so please let me hear what you think!_

_As always, Fairy Tail and characters belong to Hero Mashima. I just love them and enjoy writing about them._

* * *

Many things changed in the year Fairy Tail was disbanded, and Natsu was only gradually beginning to understand just how _different_ everything was going to be now that the guild was getting back together, and just how much had changed in their year apart. He'd expected things to change – he was gone a year, after all – but that didn't mean he wasn't shocked by the changes that occurred in his absence – the guild breaking up first among them.

While he wasn't exactly surprised Gajeel and Levy had gone off to work together at the Magic Council, he was surprised at their choice of occupation. Well, at least in Gajeel's case. What shocked him even more was the knowledge that Gray and Juvia had been living together for six months. _What the hell happened to Gray's adamant denial of his feelings for her?!_ As much as he'd deny it, he wanted to know what transpired to change Gray's attitude. Next on the list was Erza. She'd set off on her own, taking on jobs many other guilds and wizards weren't strong enough for; but she'd been sighted more than a few times with Crime Sorciere. Wendy and Carla had gone off with Porlyusica to learn more about healing. The Strauss siblings had settled into a quiet life together, working odd jobs, including opening a fairly successful bar in Magnolia. The Thunder Legion had all but disappeared, although rumor had it, they still visited Magnolia and the ex-Master frequently. The others had scattered far and wide but would pop up now and again – Lucy's research showed him as much.

Even with what quick and little information he had to go on, he could tell his fellow guildmates were hurting. They needed their guild – they needed each other, their friendship, their sense of purpose and comradery, their teamwork; hell, even the guild hall itself. _How did it come to this?!_ The Fire Dragon Slayer couldn't quite understand… He had his reasons for leaving, sure, the bandage on his right arm was just his way of hiding it; but he'd always intended to come back. He just never thought the entire guild would up and disappear, leaving the members without a solid foundation at a time when some of the members needed it the most.

The light in the darkness of his confusion was Lucy. Even after all the time that passed, she was still _Lucy._ Her hair was longer, and she had a different apartment in a different city, worked a different job, and was perhaps a little skinnier; but deep down she was the same as the last time he'd seen her, except maybe a little sadder… When she finally broke down and told him what happened with Tartaros – how she sacrificed Aquarius in order to save them, he'd cried with her as if it had just happened. The pain was still fresh, still raw, and the fact that he'd left her immediately after she lost so much ate a hole into his heart. She didn't say anything about it, of course she didn't because she was just too kind that way, but part of him wished she would. He deserved her anger. In fact, he deserved a lot worse.

While it was true he set off to grow stronger in order to protect his friends, a lot of that desire centered upon his _need_ to protect _her._ But the truth of the matter was that he left her when she needed him the most with just a scrawled note vaguely explaining what he was doing. He'd been a coward in giving her a note because he knew if he had to look into her eyes and say goodbye, he wouldn't have been able to do it. She would have wanted to come with him and he wouldn't have been able to tell her no – she was his weakness after all. It was a decision that ate at him the entire time he was gone, waking him up in the middle of the night and plaguing his subconscious until he finally voiced his concerns to Gildarts when they ran into each other. Gildarts had stubbornly given him very little advice, instead letting the Fire Dragon Slayer circle around to his own decision as he spoke, but the encounter had left Natsu disturbed, his heart heavy. He'd never regretted anything more in his life, the guilt and regret only amplifying once he found out how alone she'd really been during his absence…

This Lucy he'd returned to was the same, and yet different. One of the first things he noticed but didn't expect was that she smelled different. It wasn't the first time he'd noticed the change in her scent – it happened almost regularly in their years as friends and partners – but now that they'd been apart there was something distinctly _different_ about it. Not in a bad way, but in a way that brought out feelings and emotions he didn't quite understand, nor was he sure he was ready for.

After being away from her for a year, the moment he caught a whiff of her essence in the air, all the feelings he had kept hidden rushed to the surface. Despite his lingering guilt, being around her filled him with such excitement and joy; but also brought a strange feeling to the pit of his stomach, like a hunger that couldn't be satiated. He found any reason to be near her, to stay at her apartment (claiming his place was a wreck since he'd been gone), and sneak into her bed at night. When she was sound asleep, he'd bury his face in her hair, deeply breathing in the intoxicating aroma that made his vision blur and his blood run like lava through his veins. He'd pull her into his arms, his body surrounding hers, as his heart was squeezed in his chest. But it still wasn't enough...

That's not to say they went from not seeing each other for a year to immediately sharing a bed again, because they didn't. He respected her too much and cared about her too deeply to tread upon such a fragile moment in their friendship. Although she'd been elated to see him, the relief clear not just in her eyes but in her every mannerism; she wasn't ready to resume their previous lives as if nothing had ever happened – even he could understand that. And so it was that he spent his first night back with Lucy on the couch, wanting nothing more than to spend every moment with her now that they'd found each other again, but wisely keeping his distance despite sneaking into her bedroom. He should regret it, but he didn't – it is what sparked their hunt for the rest of the guild after all – the hunt that was bringing the guild back together.

Their reunion was months ago now, and things had settled back into some semblance of what they had been before Tartaros threw their lives into total disarray. Lucy got her apartment back in Magnolia, the guild hall was still standing and slowly being refilled with its former members, and even Fairy Hills was reclaiming some of its former residents. There were a few stark differences – Levy and Gajeel renting their own apartment just one of them. Regardless, the first night Natsu was brave enough to sneak into Lucy's bed once more had been the first time he'd truly noticed just how deeply the change in her scent affected him.

He'd been back just over a month and they'd gone on an easy job that day, a simple trip that still left them both tired. He'd stayed at her apartment the previous night to make their early departure easier and for once Happy wasn't with him – the blue Exceed choosing to go on a job with Wendy and Carla now that the young Dragon Slayer and her Exceed were back among the ranks. The night before they left, he had noticed something was different, a slight undertone of a change that had him discreetly trailing Lucy like a puppy looking for scraps as he tried to decipher not only what the scent was, but _why_ it was there in the first place. Thankfully, Lucy had been busy enough she didn't notice and when she did, he'd been able to play it off as his way of begging for food before they went to bed.

Once they'd returned home, cleaned up, and eaten dinner, they'd headed straight to bed. While originally Natsu had every intention of sleeping on the couch, Lucy's scent tantalized him, kept him from falling into the sleep he so desperately needed while his senses cued in to the quiet sound of her steady breathing, her slow heartbeat, and the gentle rustle of sheets when she'd shift in her sleep. The scent grew slightly stronger while she rested, and he sensed a change in temperature, although he couldn't explain how or why. And so, after over an hour of what felt like torture, he'd risen from the couch and soundlessly slipped into bed beside her, Lucy's quiet sigh her only reaction to the slight shifting in the bed.

As soon as he'd lifted the covers, Lucy's scent washed over him like a gentle caress, actually making his eyes drift closed a moment before he settled into position beside her. It had been so long since he'd snuck into her bed, part of him was frozen in terror, fear of a Lucy Kick deeply engrained in him despite their time apart. But a larger part of him felt like he was coming home, that this was where he belonged and where he wanted to stay. He still considered her his best friend, and just thinking about her stirred pleasantly warm feelings in his chest, but even he recognized this as something different. He'd felt them before, plenty of times, and while he had almost understood what they meant, he'd chosen to ignore them because he couldn't bear the possibility of losing her. Now, there was no denying it, no running away from it. He loved her. He was _in love_ with Lucy…

Although he tried to respect her boundaries that first night, once he'd succumbed to sleep his body acted on its own, and he'd woken to find his arm draped casually across her waist, her body pulled tightly against his, his nose buried in the luxurious mess of her hair. She'd slowly awoken around the same time as him, stirring in his arms so that her breath tickled his chest, and to his utter surprise, she hadn't been mad. She simply chuckled, her fingertips brushing across his bare chest and causing a shudder to ripple down his spine.

"Morning, Natsu," she murmured pleasantly.

Natsu was too terrified to look. He lay there frozen, his arm still draped around her, his face still surrounded by her hair, that scent still overwhelming him – even more so now that she was awake. When he remained quiet for too long, Lucy snuggled into him, causing his heart to stutter. "I'm not going to give you a Lucy Kick, if that's what you're concerned about." Anyone else would have had trouble hearing her, but his Dragon Slayer senses were even stronger than before, and he heard every word. When still he didn't respond, she pushed back from him, his arm fighting the separation until reason won out and he relaxed his grip, the softness of her tank top slipping under his fingers with ease. "Took you long enough," she teased with a smirk.

His eyes finally fell to hers and the mirth he saw there finally allowed him to relax, an easy smile crossing his lips. He unconsciously pulled her closer, her hips brushing his before he knew it. While the touch sent a shock through him, his eyes flashing open, she seemed unconcerned, even reaching up to brush his hair back from his eyes. It was the last straw – he realized then how broken and lonely he'd been. With a strangled sound rasping from his throat, he pulled her tightly to him, throwing his arms around her as though she were his lifeline. He buried his face in her neck, his breath hot against her shoulder as he deeply inhaled that same intoxicating scent that made his blood boil. "I missed you," he barely managed to whisper.

To his utter surprise, Lucy slipped her arms around him too, her fingertips gently caressing the hair at the back of his neck as he squeezed her so tightly, she almost couldn't breathe. "I missed you too," she whispered in reply. Natsu couldn't see the gentle smile caressing her lips as she closed her eyes, but he could smell the tears gathering against her lashes, reveling in their closeness after so long apart.

After that first night, Natsu hadn't been so shy about slipping into Lucy's bed, and she hadn't been so aggressive about kicking him out. It was like they had slipped back into their routine, although only slightly different. Neither of them spoke of their sleeping habits to the other members of Team Natsu (Erza would kill them both), but they also rarely openly discussed it amongst themselves. It was simply acknowledged as something that happened between them that they wouldn't question, and as days turned into weeks, Natsu slept on the couch less and less.

It was both a blessing and a curse that Natsu had free reign over sleeping in Lucy's bed or not (and of course he chose to). While he reveled in the opportunity to be so close to her, he was also accosted with her proximity more than perhaps was good for him. His true desires came out when he was sleeping, unable to bury his thoughts within his subconscious, and more than once he'd found himself in what could be considered compromising positions with his partner. He found these changes even more prominent and strong during the times that Lucy's scent was more enticing than ever, alluring in a way that made him feel like a man starved. His hands would find their own way to her, often concentrating on her hips or waist; and even a few times he woke to find his fingers splayed over her belly, just below her belly button. It was an intimate touch, and once he realized _where _he was touching her, he couldn't stop the fierce sense of protectiveness and desire that wound through him. _She was his_, but why did he think that? Was it even okay for him to think that way? Although he tried to work the thoughts through his tired mind, often times Lucy would sigh in her sleep, snuggling her hips back further into him, and his grip would only tighten in response, strong enough to leave small indentations in her skin from his fingertips. Her softness would cause him to have to stifle a pleased growl before drifting back into sleep with his princess curled against him.

One morning, Natsu slept more soundly than usual, Lucy once more pulled tightly against his chest with his face buried against her neck. Each gentle exhale tickled her skin with his hot breath, but his hold on her was warm and comforting, his body molded to hers from behind while her hands rested on his arms that held her. If anyone were to find out they slept like this, Lucy would have been mortified, but she didn't want it to stop either. Like Natsu, she needed his closeness after their time apart, and she welcomed it in any form she could get it. Fully intending to fall back asleep, Lucy shifted in an attempt to get more comfortable, and that was when she realized just _where_ Natsu's hand was.

His hand had fallen to its almost usual place, low on her belly, but his fingertips had just barely slipped under the band of her shorts. He was almost too low, almost in _dangerous _territory, although logic told her _this _was too low; and when she shifted, he gripped her, holding her tightly in place against his hips without so much as a change in his breathing. Regardless, his movement caused her breath to still in her throat, her eyes going wide in the darkness as she tried to process just what was happening. She'd noticed the hand position before, and while it had set off distant alarm bells in her mind, she'd stubbornly ignored them. But _this_. _This_ was different. There was something almost possessive about how he was holding her, something primal, and dare she think erotic. Not for the first time she thought about how he pulled her flush against his hips, how he curled around her and buried his face in her neck when he thought she was sleeping. In truth, Lucy was just as excited by his brazen hands as she was confused. The awake Natsu would never touch her like he did in his sleep, never press against her so purposefully, and although at times she fought with the decision to give him a swift Lucy Kick versus riding things out to see where they went, in the end it was a pretty easy decision. Although they clearly weren't in a "romantic" relationship, it _was_ what she wanted, so she let the Fire Dragon Slayer wander into territory that was new and exciting to the both of them – and this was the result. _Just what was going on here?_

Not sure what to do, she attempted to shift again, curious to see what Natsu's reaction would be. Just as she suspected, his hand on her belly tightened, pressing into her flesh as he pulled her against him. His hips rolled just slightly, pressing against her in a way that made heat flash through her body, lighting her ears on fire, especially when he nuzzled her neck. Each exhale sent a shiver down her spine that was both not unwelcome and startling, especially when she realized just how much she'd wanted this.

It wasn't long before she realized her heart was pounding, running away in her chest with such rampant force that she was surprised it hadn't woken the Fire Dragon Slayer. Her breaths came fast and ragged, especially when his other arm squeezed her tighter, looped under her head and across her chest, gently resting on her shoulder. She was hot, incredibly hot; both from the heat emanating from Natsu, and the fire that was suddenly kindled within her. "N-Natsu?" she whispered, unable to suppress a shudder when he groaned quietly in his sleep.

His hand slid lower and now he _was _in dangerous territory as he mumbled, "Luce," his lips actually brushing against the back of her neck.

She was immobile, shocked still and silent at the husky timbre in Natsu's voice. _Oh, Mavis! Is he dreaming?! He _has_ to be dreaming, right?! What do I do? Do I kick him out?_ Despite the movement of his hand, his fingertips just grazing the hairs hidden beneath her panties, she couldn't bring herself to shake him awake, throw him off, or yell at him. How long had she wanted him to touch her like this? How long had she wanted their relationship to progress to something more? But was that what this was? Were the changes in how he was acting his way of saying he wanted more, that he thought of her as more than just a friend? Should she assume it was nothing, just his body reacting and moving in sleep? Was he still just the same ole Natsu who likely didn't understand much (if anything) about being intimate? Or had she been wrong all along? She wanted to believe that wasn't the case, hoped that wasn't the case, but her mind wouldn't wholly allow her to latch on to such thoughts, reigning in her heart's overactive imagination with a harsh reality. He'd matured in their year apart, both physically and mentally, but if he truly wanted more from her, then why was he like this at some times and not others? True, he was more "touchy-feely" than ever before, his hands on her in one way or another more often than not, but these types of touches, the kind that lit a fire in her own belly, didn't happen nearly as often. And when they did, he seemed completely unaware of how it affected her. With a dejected sigh, she closed her eyes and allowed his hand to stay where it was – consequences be damned. She needed to see his reaction once he realized what he was doing.

When Natsu awoke a little while later, he nuzzled Lucy's neck like he always did (when she was still asleep anyway), her strawberry shampoo surrounding him pleasantly as her silky skin caressed the tip of his nose. It was when he slightly moved his hand that he froze, his eyes snapping open in horror as he fought the urge to leap from the bed and burst into flames. He could feel Lucy's shorts against the back of his hand, feel the increase in warmth from how low he was against her, but more importantly, his fingertips were in contact with something he never expected to touch and live – coarse hairs the indication of how far south he'd gone. He needed to withdraw, needed to pull his hand out of dangerous territory. But could he do that and not wake Lucy? He had to at least try…

* * *

Hours later found them at the guild, looking for another job and trying to decide if they wanted to invite Gray and Juvia along. Erza was out with Crime Sorciere, something Natsu was ironically thankful for given what had transpired just that morning, but for once his mind was on the other male Dragon Slayer in the vicinity – Gajeel. He needed to talk to Gajeel.

Lucy and Juvia were chatting amicably while he stared into oblivion, his eyes fixed unseeing on the wall over Juvia's shoulder. Ever since he'd scarcely managed to literally pull his hand out of Lucy's pants, he knew he was in trouble. Something was wrong. Now that he'd touched her so low, whether knowingly or not, he couldn't stop thinking about it, about _her,_ and in ways he found both disturbing and arousing. While he'd successfully avoided being castrated by Lucy, he'd had to immediately roll over and talk himself down, steam practically pouring from his ears as he held his offending hands tightly together in order to keep them from acting on their own again. Lucy had woken up confused, her strange heart rate the moment she woke up told him as much, but they didn't talk about it. In fact, they'd scarcely said a word to each other since rolling out of bed.

"Natsu? Hey, Natsu! Earth to Matchstick!"

"What?" he asked with a shake of his head and jerk of his shoulders, bringing his focus back to the present.

Gray stared at him from across the table with his mouth hanging open. "Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?"

His lip curling in disgust, Natsu shook his head, the fact that Lucy and Juvia were staring at him with similar looks of surprise not lost on him. "Nothing's wrong with me!"

"You sure?" Lucy whispered, touching his arm where it rested on the table gently. "You've been acting strange all morning."

Although he fought it, he jumped slightly at her touch, the sensation of her skin against his just as soothing and cool as it was torturous. He wanted to look at her, to reassure her that he was fine, but he couldn't. He couldn't look at her and _not _think about how he'd practically violated her in his sleep. He couldn't look at her and _not_ be completely overwhelmed by her scent. And what was worse, he couldn't look at her and _not_ want to do it all over again. Instead, he slipped out of the booth. "I gotta go talk to Metal Mouth."

"What?"

Ignoring the trio's confused question, he simply walked away, swallowing his pride as he approached the Iron Dragon Slayer, who sat at a booth with his arm casually thrown around Levy's shoulders. He could hear them talking but couldn't process the conversation – his mind was in too much chaos. "Hey, Gajeel," he called the moment he was close enough to not have to shout – at least for Levy's sake.

Gajeel and Levy both turned to look at him in surprise. Levy's gentle brown eyes were wide, but she looked genuinely happy to have him approach them. Gajeel, on the other hand, had his eyes narrowed, as though suspicious. "What do you want?" he grumbled.

Shifting his feet, Natsu did his best not to look nervous. "I need to talk to you."

"Yeah? About what?"

When the larger man made no move to move, Natsu sighed. He didn't want to do this _here._ At least Wendy wasn't around to pick up on their conversation, but still. "Can we talk outside?" he asked, swallowing his pride and lowering his gaze.

Levy gasped quietly before all but shoving her boyfriend out of the booth. She'd never seen Natsu look so repentant, as though he'd already done something wrong. Although she knew that wasn't the case, she was just as surprised as Lucy was to see him ask the other Dragon Slayer for help – the two were notoriously competitive. Even as Gajeel opened his mouth to say otherwise, she answered for him with a quick boot to the behind. "Of course you can!" When Gajeel turned dark, angry eyes her way, she simply smiled and waved them on. The Iron Dragon Slayer couldn't argue, and so the two quickly made their way outside and to the edge of the yard.

"What's this about?" Gajeel growled, folding his arms across his chest to make his annoyance clear.

Not sure where to begin, Natsu rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding Gajeel's gaze. The dark slayer's larger frame didn't help the fact that he already felt _small. _He _never_ wanted to ask him for help, especially not with something like this, but with him the only other male Dragon Slayer around, he had no other choice. And even if Laxus was around, he certainly wasn't going to ask _him._ _He _would tell Mira, and then the whole guild would know. As he continued to struggle with his words, Gajeel moved to head back to the guild. "If you aren't gonna talk, then I'm goin' back inside."

"Something's happening!" Natsu blurted, his hands falling open uselessly at his sides as he pled with Gajeel through his wide eyes.

His words had the desired effect, for Gajeel stopped and turned to look at the Fire Dragon Slayer with narrowed eyes, a crease forming between his pierced brows. "What do you mean?"

"I-I can't explain it," he admitted, hating the warmth he felt in his cheeks. "But Lucy…" His voice petered out as he fought for words.

"Out with it Fire Breath before I leave you out here," Gajeel threatened, folding his arms across his chest once more.

"Lucy smells different!"

A smirk crossed Gajeel's lips that made Natsu's blood boil. "She smells different, huh?" With a sigh, he moved to lean against the closest tree, his eyes dancing with a new light as he eyed the nervous Dragon Slayer. He couldn't pass on the opportunity to see him so out of sorts. "Good different or bad different?" He already knew the answer.

There was no hesitation in Natsu's response. "Good. Definitely good."

"Good like, you want to pounce on her?"

Without thinking, Natsu threw a flaming punch that Gajeel was quick to stop with an iron-fortified hand. Even as Natsu snarled at him, his lips pulled back to reveal his elongated canines, Gajeel cocked his head to the side to peer at him around his flames. "I'll take that as a yes."

Shoving back, Natsu ground out, "Fuck you!"

A malicious glint appeared in Gajeel's eyes then. "You mean to tell me that if she came up to you right now and said she wanted to fuck you, you'd say no?"

"Gajeel!" Natsu was mortified by the Iron Dragon Slayer's words, his face flushing beet red before going pale. His words rang too close to home. No, Natsu wouldn't say no – and Gajeel knew that.

Despite the obvious terror and confusion at war on Natsu's face, Gajeel continued to press him, cocking his head to the side as he watched him with true curiosity. "Don't tell me you haven't thought about it?"

That was the problem. _Of course_ he'd thought about it! He'd had such vivid dreams he'd awoken not sure what was real and what was fantasy until the tightness in his loins made itself painfully known. More than once he'd had to throw himself into a cold shower in order to force down his desire. He'd come to crave it, crave her more than he even craved fire, and he found that fact terrifying. Despite what his instincts and his body may want, he couldn't lose Lucy.

Sensing the Fire Dragon Slayer's inner turmoil, Gajeel threw his head back and cackled, his laughter loud in the surrounding silence – it was still early at the guild hall. "Ahahahaha! It's finally happened!"

Confused, Natsu dropped his fists, his face growing slack. "I don't understand."

"When do you notice this?" Gajeel pressed, but Natsu had no clear answer for him.

It started off gradually, at least at first. It was always shortly after another change in her scent that he knew from long ago. Having grown up around many girls, he'd discovered this regular scent and been both horrified and curious. While it wasn't necessarily a _good_ smell, it wasn't bad either. It was simply… _Odd._ What had struck him as even weirder was how regularly it came and how oftentimes it was accompanied by changes in the girls affected. They were sometimes mean and sometimes emotional, but they were always a force to be reckoned with. When his young nose discovered this, Gildarts had simply laughed and clapped him hard on the shoulder. "You'll figure it out one day," had been his only advice.

Because of his past experience, Natsu had come to expect this change in his female friends, doing his best to shut it out as soon as he caught wind of it. He'd never really noticed a different change in their scent _after_ this monthly change. It may have been because he didn't want to, because he was focusing on _not_ smelling anything; or it may simply have been because he truly didn't notice it. Lucy was different. Although he hadn't noticed it at first, as they grew closer as both members of Team Natsu and as friends, he'd begun to notice the alteration to her scent that came nearly as regularly as the other change. This change, however, was pleasant and alluring. He found himself around her more often than not, drawn to her as if by some invisible force, when the wonderful aroma permeated his senses. Even so, it had never evoked the strong feelings it now did.

His silence spoke volumes and Gajeel took a step forward, placing a reassuring hand on Natsu's shoulder before squeezing. "She smells different than before, doesn't she?" he asked, his voice oddly quiet and without taunt.

Natsu nodded, his eyes lowered to the tips of Gajeel's boots. He'd never thought of it before, or at least he didn't want to. "She does."

Gajeel took a step back, folding his arms across his chest again. "I'll only tell ya this once, so don't make me repeat it," he warned, waiting for Natsu to finally look at him. As much as they rivaled each other, he couldn't stand to see the proud wizard look so dejected. "You're smelling her… fertility." His eyebrow rose up as a confident smirk tugged at his lips. "And I think you already know why it's so appealing to you."

Aghast, Natsu sputtered, his mouth falling open as he struggled to string together words into a coherent sentence. "How-wha-huh? Fer-fertil…" He couldn't finish the word, his face and insides feeling hotter than his fiercest flames. "D-does this happen to you, too?" he finally asked without thinking.

Snorting, Gajeel shrugged. "Of course it does." His eyes turned into daggers before he snarled a warning, pressing a finger straight into Natsu's chest. "But don't you go telling Blondie that!"

His lip curling up in disgust, Natsu shook his head. He didn't want to think about the Iron Dragon Slayer and his girlfriend. "What do I do?" he whispered, not fully expecting an answer.

Slapping him hard on the back of the shoulder, Gajeel was already heading back to the guild when he called back, "Go claim your woman!" Although it sounded like a shout to Natsu, it was little more than an enthusiastic whisper. Regardless, Natsu jerked and turned bright red nonetheless.

* * *

Nearly an hour passed since Natsu left the booth and Lucy was growing worried. She'd seen the strange way he'd approached Gajeel, clearly asking him for help if Levy's reaction meant anything. Then the two had disappeared outside for quite a while, only Gajeel returning. With his strange behavior, she'd opted out of recruiting Gray and Juvia for their latest job, even though she didn't miss the look of concern in Gray's eyes.

"Why don't you go find him, Lucy?" Gray finally offered. "I'm sure he's outside blowing off steam."

"They weren't even fighting," she muttered, her eyes wide when she looked to Gray.

"He's gotten a lot of that out of his system, I think," Gray explained. "Besides, I don't think Gajeel stands a chance against him if he can take out an entire guild on his own."

A proud smile pulled at Lucy's lips, remembering his performance the first time she'd seen him in almost a year. He'd always been powerful, but _that _had been something else entirely. _That _had made more than just her heart race. "True," she admitted, but did not move from her spot.

"Go find him before I shout at the top of my lungs how hopeless you are," he finally threatened, his dark eyes flashing.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia chastised, her eyes wide in shock as she smacked his arm.

"Gray!" Lucy shrieked, immediately lurching to her feet even though she wanted to deliver a fast and fierce Lucy Kick. "Fine!" she pouted as she stomped off, her boots clacking against the floor as she swung her arms with closed fists. She may not understand what was going on, but she'd be damned if Gray outed her in front of the entire guild. It was bad enough that he, Erza, and Levy so clearly knew how she felt – and Levy had been the only one she'd actually _told_. Apparently, she was just that obvious to the other two (although Levy did say she saw it coming from a mile away when Lucy _did_ tell her).

Once she stepped outside, Lucy easily found Natsu, perched in the Y of one of the trees bordering the woods that flanked Fairy Tail. He swung his legs beneath him, his eyes downcast as he plucked leaves from the branches and lit them on fire before snuffing the flames out in his fist. "Natsu?" she called.

The sound of Lucy's voice shocked him so deeply to his core that Natsu fell from the tree, landing flat on his back. He groaned on impact, his eyes squeezed shut and his legs still sticking up into the air with his fingers twitching helplessly. His senses picked up on Lucy's rapid approach, the sound of her boots in the soft grass, the way her breath caught in her throat when he fell, and the sharp tang of fear that rippled through the air before dissipating. "Ow," he grumbled, finally allowing his limbs to settle at his sides in the grass with a sigh.

Lucy was at his side then, sliding to her knees. Her scent rolled over him with her arrival, immediately heating his blood, but he fought against it, keeping his eyes tightly closed to avoid looking at her. Even so, he was acutely aware of her presence, her nearness at his side. He could feel her warmth radiating from her knee, right next to his hand. The fact that she was wearing a skirt was not helping his situation any.

"Mavis, Natsu! Are you okay? What have you been doing out here?"

"Thinking," he admitted with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

Pressing her fists into the tops of her thighs, Lucy huffed. "You've been acting strange all morning. What's going on?" she snapped, her patience at its limit. Not only was she frustrated with his behavior, but she was also irritated with herself. She'd fallen asleep and missed his reaction to _whatever_ had happened or was happening in the middle of the night – if indeed it had even _been _something. The fact that she'd woken up to find his back turned to her for the first time since they started sharing her bed again had stung more than she cared to admit.

At the angry tone in her voice, Natsu's eyes reluctantly opened. Even in the shadows of the trees, Lucy found herself drawn to their emerald depths, so dark they appeared almost black. His eyes searched hers with such intensity, Lucy could feel her heart warm and tighten in her chest, heat spreading to her neck and cheeks without her permission as he slowly sat up in front of her, draping his arms lazily over the tops of his knees. "I needed to talk to Gajeel," he quietly admitted, finally breaking eye contact to look at his hands, hanging limply in the air before his legs.

"About what?" she queried, her voice gentler.

He hesitated, his eyes returning to hers before drifting to her hair, blowing gently in the breeze. "It's a Dragon Slayer thing," he answered lamely.

Lucy saw his answer for what it was – an evasion, and angrily rose to her feet. "Fine, Natsu. Don't tell me."

"Luce!" he cried, lurching to his feet after her.

"Don't forget, we leave for our job early tomorrow morning," she snapped, flipping her hair back over her shoulder. "I'm going home."

She was gone before he could answer her.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: I must admit I've been hanging onto this for a while because I kept thinking I wanted to change the end, but I guess deep down I didn't want to because I just couldn't! So, I'm sorry for the delay, but here's the long-awaited conclusion! Thank you so very much for all of the kind words, favorites, and follows. It is always wonderful to see when some random idea garners such a following! Comments/reviews are always welcome!_

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That night, Natsu slipped soundlessly in through Lucy's window, heaving a sigh of relief when he discovered she'd still left it open. He had started to use the door more frequently after their year apart, their distance making him appreciate all that he had taken for granted before their separation. Even so, she still often left the window cracked. Whether it was simply habit or it was for him, he did not know; but the small action always warmed his heart when he joined her later at night as it granted him quick and easy access into her home without waking her, and made him feel like he was always welcome regardless of the time.

The moment his feet touched down, he took his sandals off and quietly inhaled, Lucy's scent even stronger now that they had been apart all day. He'd wandered around aimlessly, trying to figure out what to do or say to her, if anything. That he needed to apologize was apparent, what he wasn't sure about was the rest of it. Did he need to tell her what was going on? _Should_ he? Although the cause of his desire was now clear, that didn't mean Lucy would appreciate it, let alone return the sentiment… Regardless, he quickly pulled his shirt off over his head and slipped into bed like he always did, and just as before, the moment he lifted the sheet, he was nearly lost to oblivion.

Her scent was more concentrated beneath the covers, and the quick movement of the sheet breathed life into it like a gentle caress, making Natsu stagger in his bliss as his eyes drifted closed. Heat swelled within him, beginning in his core, and for the first time he completely understood what it meant. Even as his heart pounded within his chest, the organ feeling too large for the space his ribs provided, his stomach did nervous flips as he gingerly reached out and pulled Lucy back into the circle of his arms. Where she belonged.

Lucy's steady breathing did not change when he pulled her against him, his hips pressing into hers with an ache that made him want to groan in frustration. With each beat of her heart, her blood pulsed in her neck and flooded his senses with _her_ anew. It was both bliss and agony as his arms wound around her, his nose buried into the mass of hair at her neck. The silken strands caressed his face and tickled his nose until he brushed them aside, his nose resting along the pulse point in her throat that filled him with her intoxicating aroma.

The strength with which Natsu gripped her slowly woke Lucy as at first, she felt strength and warmth, comfort in his grasp that slowly shifted. There was no mistaking the tight way his hips pressed against her, the soft groan that escaped him that he thought he kept in, or the way his mouth gently brushed against her neck, each exhale tickling her suddenly flushed skin. The fact that he was too distracted to notice her change in heart rate as she awoke spoke volumes to his mental state. "Natsu?" she whispered, her hand sliding along his forearm in an attempt to show him she was no longer mad.

Natsu froze, his breath catching in his throat as his eyes flew open. His fantasy crumbled around him as he realized what he was doing, his hand gripping her hip that was against the mattress tightly. When he remained frozen, his blood rushing in his ears, Lucy continued, the tips of her fingers sliding between the tendons of his hand and through his knuckles. "If you're freaking out about this morning," she began, her heart sinking when Natsu quickly withdrew his hand as though she burned him – or more like she was ice cold in his case.

"I," he began, but she cut him off.

"Don't be."

"What?" he breathed, his eyes wide as he stared at the back of her head in shock. Even though his hands were no longer on her, he was still tightly pressed against her back, each staggering breath he took pressing his chest against her.

"I'm not mad," she quietly admitted, trying to alleviate his fears when she didn't even have the nerve to look at him. "It's… it's okay."

"Luce," he breathed, his hands reaching for her once more. When he saw how they trembled, he clenched them into fists and stopped, leaving them where they were.

"What's going on, Natsu?" she whispered, her eyes staring blankly at the wall before her. "You're… different."

_So are you,_ he retorted in his mind, but he knew she didn't say the words out of hostility. Had he been so brazen in his actions that she noticed them, sooner than he realized? He swallowed before he quietly answered, "That's what I had to talk to Gajeel about."

It was her turn to freeze against him, her entire body going shock-still. "The Dragon Slayer thing," she muttered, her mind turning as she tried to piece together incomplete puzzle pieces.

He sighed, his breath hot against her ear. "Yeah." The shiver that wracked down her spine nearly broke him, as the tremor hit him from his chest to the tops of his thighs. Finally giving in, he slipped one arm under her head, acting like a pillow, and the other around her waist once more, his hand settling at the curve of her waist against the mattress rather than where his instincts told him to put it. He had no idea his hands were warming just from the thought.

An involuntary sigh left her when he finally took her back into his arms. He'd been pressed against her back the whole time but had still felt like he was miles away. Feeling his arms wrap around her once more made her feel like she was home, where she belonged, and she snuggled into the arm beneath her head without realizing it. "Do you want to talk about it?"

His swallow was audible as he nuzzled against her neck once more. _I don't want you to hate me,_ he breathed inwardly, for once admitting what his real fears were. He'd left her when she needed him most, and yet she'd welcomed him back with open arms. He practically ate her out of house and home, cost them reward money for jobs left and right when he caused too much destruction, and yet she still let him sleep in her bed with her. She was a saint. A saint that he didn't deserve. "No," he mumbled simply, his thoughts swirling darkly in his mind as he lowered his head so that his forehead gently pressed against the back of her neck, his breath now trickling down her back.

"Okay," she breathed, trying to quash the disappointment as it bloomed in her chest. While she was no longer upset at him for not telling her, it didn't stop her from being curious. He would tell her if and when he was ready - she wouldn't force him. Even so, the air was wrought with tension surrounding them, both of them clearly holding something back from the other, and she found it even more unsettling than usual. Her lower lip slipped between her teeth as she tried to gain the courage to say what she wanted to say, to let him know what he'd done was okay and not something to be ashamed of, even if she couldn't tell him the rest of how she felt. "Can I just say something?" Her voice was quiet in the dark, nearly inaudible to her own ears.

The pressure of his forehead against her back increased reassuringly. "Of course."

She sucked in a breath for courage, taking his hand at her waist and moving it back to where she so often felt his warmth lingering. Although she'd only caught him in the act the one time, and he'd been considerably lower than usual, she'd felt his remaining warmth more times than she could count. A few times her skin had actually been flushed from where his hand had rested, and each time it had brought a pleasant heat to her entire being and a smile to her lips. She hadn't known if it was intentional or not, and she wasn't sure if he realized the significance of his hand placement or not, but she did. Or at least she thought she did. "I… I like it when you touch me," she quietly admitted, closing her eyes in shame as she felt as though she should burst into flames.

"Luce," he murmured, his heart leaping even as all blood rushed south. He tried to stifle the sudden rush of heat that coiled low in his belly, the twitch even lower than that that made him want to simultaneously press his hips against her and pull back, afraid she'd notice. "You knew?"

She nodded once, her eyes still closed as she felt him stiffen behind her. His grip on her belly tightened, heat emanating from his fingertips as he fought some internal struggle. "I suspected."

Words were lost to him then, jumbled in the mass of thoughts and emotions tumbling through his mind. Without thinking, he tugged on her hip, rolling her over to face him. She avoided his gaze, her eyes cast downward with her chin tucked, but he wouldn't settle for that. Not now. Moving with a certainty that he didn't feel, he gently took her chin in his hand and tilted her head up, forcing her gaze to meet his.

When Lucy finally raised her eyes, her lashes no longer dark smudges against her darkening cheeks, she sucked in a surprised breath. Not only were Natsu's eyes all but glowing in the darkness of the room, but he was looking at her with an intensity she'd never seen before – like he was a starved man finally seeing a full meal before him, a drowning man finding land, a caged beast finally freed. Her lips parted on their own and suddenly his lips were on hers.

His lips were soft and gentle as they caressed hers, his nervousness tangible in the gentle way his lip trembled against hers. When she didn't immediately respond, he quickly pulled back, heat evident in his cheeks as he swallowed nervously. So much for not talking about it. "I can't stop thinking about you, Luce," he breathed, his own eyes downcast.

"What the hell took you so long?" she grumbled, fingers ensnaring in his hair and pulling his lips back down to be captured by her own. Natsu growled in surprise a moment, immediately returning the kiss with just as much fervor. His hand at her hip moved to her lower back, pulling her to him in one swift motion just as he ran his tongue along her lower lip, all but begging her for permission that she was only too happy to grant.

The moment Natsu's tongue slipped past her lips, Lucy let out a soft groan that shot straight to Natsu's groin. He was torn between ravishing her mouth and releasing all his pent-up tension versus treating her delicately, like the princess she was to him. In the end, she decided for him, her tongue sliding seductively against his as she curled her fingers in his hair. Her back arched, pressing her breasts against his chest and before he knew it, his hand slid down to cup the rounded swell of her butt. This time he didn't stop himself from pressing his hips forward into hers, holding her firmly in place so she could feel just how much he'd been wanting this. The sensation of his hardness against her made Lucy gasp, and she instinctively pulled away from the kiss, but he wouldn't let her, following her hasty attempt at a retreat with a gentle roll that pinned her beneath him.

"Natsu," she gasped when he finally released her lips in order to breathe.

"Lucy," he murmured right back, his mouth moving to nibble gently on her earlobe. His knees had ended up outside of hers, and while she sighed pleasantly, he slipped his knee between her legs, moving it up to press her knees apart.

Friction brought her eyes open, Lucy startled to see Natsu smirking down at her ever so softly. Her brow furrowing, she opened her mouth to say something, some sharp retort on the tip of her tongue, before he stole her breath and her thoughts with a kiss that was so fierce, it was nearly bruising. She retaliated in kind, dragging her fingernails along his scalp before gripping his shoulders. He groaned into the kiss, the pressure between her legs increasing with the pressure she put on his shoulders. It was when she rocked her hips up, rolling against his thigh, that she realized how far she wanted this to go and roughly pulled her other leg out from where it had been trapped within his. Surprised, Natsu paused for only a moment, his lips letting up some in their relentless assault against hers before he rolled his hips into her, dragging his length against her with a mixture of a purr and a growl resonating in his chest. Their momentum was only slightly thrown off when Lucy returned the gesture, dragging her fingernails down his back to stop at his hips and pull him even closer.

The sensations Lucy elicited in him were unlike anything Natsu had ever experienced. Ripples of pleasure radiated from his center, causing fire to flash behind his eyelids as his whole body warmed. Even so, he could feel Lucy warming beneath him, her breath coming in shorter and faster gasps as she sighed and moaned into their kisses. Her scent was also changing, a sweet muskiness that was even more enticing than before – something he would not have thought possible. However, unlike her previous scent that permeated her entire being, this one was centered lower, bringing Gajeel's words to mind as his hand slowly made its way up her side.

Lucy never felt more alive, frustrated, and on fire. It was like once Natsu opened the hatch, the tides of their arousal came flowing out like floodwaters, ready to destroy anything and everything in its path until it reached its final destination. She had no experience, and although they'd never sat down to truly talk about it, she knew Natsu didn't either; but that didn't stop him from setting every nerve fiber she had on edge, burning just as hotly as his flames. Suddenly her clothes were too much, his were too much, she couldn't bear the thought of _not_ touching him, not kissing him. She wanted to show him, to give him, her everything and receive his in return.

When Natsu's calloused and warm hand finally cupped her breast, Lucy bit his lower lip, pulling it into her mouth as he gently squeezed her. It wasn't hard for him to find her already erect nipple, the pebbled bud straining against the thin material of her tank top, and once he gently took it between his thumb and forefinger, she released her hold on his lip with a sigh, dropping her head back onto the pillow. He took the change in stride, shifting to press soft kisses at the hollow of her neck, experimenting with how he touched, rolled, and palmed her bountiful flesh in his hand before switching to the other side. It was when he reached the line of her shirt, the material already pulled low due to his ministrations, that he paused, dark eyes darting up to Lucy's.

He got the permission he was somehow asking for when Lucy pulled her lower lip between her teeth and gently nodded. Working on top of her clothes, he took her nipple in his mouth, the fabric adding an additional layer of friction that made Lucy's toes curl. His tongue swirled around and over the sensitive bud, her shirt quickly becoming damp before he moved to the other side.

The sudden chill when his mouth left her made Lucy moan, her fingers delving into his unruly salmon-colored locks as he tended to her other breast. Pleasant surprise rippled through her when his hand suddenly slid _up_ her shirt, finally taking her bare breast in his hand just as he left her other nipple damp and alone. She wasted no time in dragging him back to her, her grip in his hair firm and rough before claiming his lips once more.

Heat unlike anything he'd ever experienced was coiling low in Natsu's gut, threatening to burn right through him. He'd dreamed, but never thought Lucy would let him do what he was doing, that she would so ardently return his attentions. When her hands wandered, tracing the planes of his back and abs, he shuddered, sighing pleasantly; until she took the waistband of his pants in hand.

"Luce, what," he started, instinctively pulling back and holding himself up on his elbow so he could look into her lust-glazed eyes. He would not have been surprised to know his were just as dark, his pupils nearly blown from excitement and want. For the first time, he noticed they were both trembling.

"Natsu," she murmured, pulling his hips into hers by the waistband of his pants. "You know what."

He swallowed, suddenly nervous to the point a chill ran through his blood. Was this seriously happening? Something Gajeel said was floating around in the back of his mind, but Lucy's kiss-swollen lips were distracting him, her hips a pleasant torture as she rolled them up to meet his. "A-are you sure?" he asked, hating how pitiful his voice sounded.

Her grip on him softened, her free hand moving to cup his cheek. "I've never been more sure of anything."

He might as well have died and gone to heaven, for how happy her words made him. A crooked smile broke across his lips, turning up the left side as he pushed himself back onto his knees, quickly taking Lucy's hands into his own and hauling her up into a sitting position. Her brow furrowed as her hair flung over her shoulder, but he quickly answered her silent question by taking her dampened shirt in hand and ripping it open. He couldn't even feel bad about it once he was greeted by her silken, milky white skin. At first, she tried to cover herself, but when he pushed her back down by the shoulder, she let her arms go, flinging them above her head as he moved to kiss lower.

The further south he moved, the more her scent enticed him, and the more painful his own pants became – even if they were loose. She squirmed beneath his kisses, soft sighs escaping her as she threw her head back and arched her back up. His tongue traced patterns into her skin, dancing along her collarbone and down her sternum to pause at each breast. Once both nipples were taut and Lucy moaned appreciatively beneath him, he made his way further down, continuing the swirl patterns on her abdomen.

Lucy felt like she was about to lose her mind. To keep from pulling Natsu too roughly by the hair, she gripped her pillow, pulling the fabric in her hands as he finally reached the band of her shorts. If she thought Natsu was taking too long before, he'd quickly come to understand, barely pausing as he hooked his fingers in her shorts and underwear and tugging. She immediately lifted her hips to aid in their removal, oddly not at all embarrassed by having her partner's face so close to her sex. They'd seen each other naked on several occasions, not all of them by accident, and although she wouldn't say they were _comfortable_ naked around each other, it was enough to lessen her shyness. Even so, nothing prepared her for the shocking sensation of having her knees jerked apart and Natsu's tongue swiping hot and wet up her center.

"Natsu!" she gasped, her hips involuntarily bucking beneath her.

Natsu simply looked up, enjoying the view from between her thighs, and smiled. "Was that bad?" he teased, already knowing otherwise based on her heart rate and smell.

Lucy tried to close her legs, the heat of embarrassment finally flushing her face as she pulled the pillow over her eyes. "No, it-it's," she stuttered as he returned to her slick folds, gently working his tongue between them with a carefulness he rarely showed. As he moved his tongue side-to-side, then up and down she dissolved into a moan, clasping her hands over her mouth even as her hips rose up to meet his face. They were both rewarded when he found the round bud of her most sensitive tissue. "Fuck," she cried, hands reflexively gripping his hair.

Smiling to himself, Natsu experimented swirling his tongue around the bundle of nerves and enjoying the way Lucy writhed beneath him. When he deviated and slipped down her folds, he thrust his tongue into her and nearly passed out from the relief of finally getting to taste her at her sweetest. All the tension left him with a groan as he settled, his hands gripping her hips to hold them down as she not so gently pressed his face against her. Her scent was nearly overwhelming, surrounding him in her essence that still somehow reminded him of vanilla and strawberries. He could stay between her legs forever, but even with her pleased sounds, they were still missing something.

"Luce," he paused. "Can I try something?"

She didn't even stop to think. "Yes," she panted.

Pressing his lips tightly together out of nervousness, Natsu gently slid his knuckles down her already slick center, satisfaction swelling his chest when Lucy rolled her hips up towards him. He'd long ago stopped thinking, his body and instincts taking over just as much as he was sure Lucy's had. They were quickly building toward something neither of them could come back from, with no signs of stopping or slowing down, but something told him to help her as much as he could, and with a soft sigh, he pressed one finger into her, his own arousal rising just from the feeling and the pleased moan that practically sang from Lucy's lips. He tested her, slowly moving his finger in and out before gently adding another. As she adjusted to the change, he lowered his mouth back to her, his tongue lying flat against the swollen bud before he moved his fingers and tongue together, relishing in her surprised gasp and strong grip to his shoulders.

He didn't know where his ideas were coming from when he curled his fingers in a 'come-hither' gesture, gently sucking on her before swirling his tongue around with such force he could hardly breathe. It was apparently just what Lucy needed as she clamped down, her muscles tightening around him as her fingers dug into his hair and _pulled_, his name spilling incoherently from her lips in a breathy whisper.

Not relenting, he kept up his motions but lightened the pressure as Lucy slowly came down from her high. Every muscle relaxed, her pleasing scent now surrounded and enveloped him. He didn't want to move from where he was, but an incessant pulse from below was demanding his attention, something Lucy seemed to slowly realize at the same time she finally opened her eyes. "Good Mavis, Natsu," she breathed, gripping his shoulders gently to pull him up to her. She immediately pulled him into a kiss, tasting herself on his tongue and not caring as he slowly and more than a little regretfully withdrew his fingers. He was between her legs before she even knew it, his covered erection pressing into her with scarcely contained vigor.

"Luce," he whispered, his arms trembling but not from the effort of holding himself up. "I-"

She shushed him with a gentle finger to his lips. Her eyebrow arched and her lips smirked as though to say she understood and with surprising (or perhaps not surprising) dexterity, she pulled his pants and boxers low on his hips before shoving them down the rest of the way with her feet. He kicked them off a moment later. "Natsu," she breathed, finally reaching down to touch him for the first time.

A strangled sound escaped him then, and his head dropped to her shoulder. He felt full, full and so hot he was surely ready to explode and burst into flames even hotter than he'd used against Scarlet Leone'. Not wanting the moment to end too soon, he gently took her hand in his, pulling it away from where she'd gently wrapped her fingers around his throbbing length. Confusion flitted across her features as she looked up at him, her lower lip moving into a pout as he pulled back to look at her once more. Words failed him then, and he chose to soothe her fears with what he knew best – action. Taking the hand he still held, he interlaced their fingers before gently placing her hand above her head. Her free hand sought out his, the wild passion still in her eyes but joined with shining love and understanding. Their lips met as cautiously as when they'd first kissed, both trembling as Natsu lowered himself, just brushing against her entrance. Lucy sucked in a breath at the sensation, stark need flooding through her at the thought of being filled, finally having the man she'd wanted and loved for so long. Natsu took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth, tracing her teeth as he altered his hips, sliding up along her wetness before increasing the pressure.

The moment his hardness slid along her center; Lucy was lost. Her heart raced so fast she thought for sure it was going to burst, but that didn't compare to the heat pooling in her core and spreading outward. Her grip on Natsu's hand instinctively tightened, and he pulled back, squeezing her hand just as tightly. His eyes never leaving hers, he lowered his forehead and slid her other hand up, pinning both hands above her head before leaning down to kiss her once more. This kiss was different, they could both feel it in the tension tightly strung through their bodies, and they finally got rid of the tension by moving as one – Natsu pressing his hips down and Lucy rolling hers up.

He entered her gently, shaking from the effort of restraining himself, and seeing flames at the corners of his vision as he gazed into Lucy's eyes. They both gasped as he pressed into her, her wet tightness nearly overwhelming. He was never sure how something like this would go, how the size difference would or wouldn't matter, and most importantly if he'd _hurt_ her. Even though she was so tight it was nearly painful, her slick heat pulled him in, beckoned him to become one with her and she looked far from in pain. Her head fell back onto the pillow, her eyes rolling shut as a groan escaped her that Natsu was quick to match, latching onto her shoulder gently to keep from shouting.

Lucy gasped at the feel of his teeth in her shoulder, her muscles tightening around him so much so that he stopped, turning wary eyes on her before she smiled. She pulled down on her hands slightly, her smile growing when his grip intensified, keeping her in place. "It's okay," she breathed, only experiencing a slight discomfort. She'd been told her first time would hurt and most likely not be very pleasant at all, but none of that was proving true. Natsu was taking care of her – passionate and yet gentle, caring and yet lustful. While he was still far from fully enveloped, it was clear from his expression that he'd stop at a moment's notice – the second she told him to. She didn't plan on telling him to.

"You sure?" he murmured, flexing within her reflexively and causing himself to groan.

Rather than answer him with words, Lucy rose to meet his lips with her own, her hands gripping his as he instinctively thrust into her. The rapid change was both exhilarating and surprising, a quiet moan quickly rising in crescendo as he quickly sheathed himself to the hilt, smothering her cry with his kiss. Lucy broke off the kiss when stars threatened beneath her eyelids, her breath coming in short gasps as she adjusted to his length and girth. She'd never experienced feeling so _full_, stretched pleasantly around something so hard and warm and undeniably _Natsu._ It was enough to make her moan just thinking about it, even if there was a more than slight stinging, and the sound only encouraged Natsu, who cautiously pulled back.

"Where are you going?!" she cried, her hands squeezing his reflexively.

Smirking, Natsu slowly pressed himself back, grinding his hips softly into hers once he was all the way inside her once more. The warmth within him was quickly rising to the point that he felt like boiling butterflies were taking over his gut. "I have to move, Luce," he whispered, nuzzling her gently as he pulled back to thrust forward once more.

She giggled, which made him freeze, her muscles fluttering around him and threatening to end him too soon. He only managed to stop it by biting his lip and squeezing his eyes shut. It didn't take away the sweet, wet, hotness surrounding him, but dulled the pleasure just enough he could keep from finishing too soon.

"You're going to be the death of me, Luce," he muttered, his eyes glittering mischievously as he drew back and thrust once more. The pleased moan that escaped her lips kept him from stopping this time, her fierce grip on his hands bringing him to a slightly faster pace as he experimented with a harder, deeper thrust.

Like all things they did, it didn't take them long to find a rhythm, Natsu's hips drilling into hers as she rose to meet him. Each thrust brought newfound pleasure, like shocks rippling through their bodies. Natsu continued to warm, his breaths coming in shallow gasps as he focused solely on the woman beneath him. Lucy was in the same boat, each heavy thrust bringing a quiet sound of pleasure that Natsu was quick to smother when she grew too loud. Even then, she had to break the kiss off in order to breathe, drawing in ragged gasps as he filled her again and again. Her knees drew up on their own, and Natsu took the opportunity to slide a hand under her hips, canting her upward and changing the angle. The effect was instantaneous as he hit a spot deep within Lucy that shot off fireworks, pleasure a white-hot light that rippled through her like a tidal wave. He followed a moment later, the sudden clenching of her muscles around him bringing him to a stuttered stand-still as he thrust into her as deeply as he could, his hot seed spilling within her as he squeezed her hands. It was only then that he realized she was biting his hand, stifling her cry as she squeezed her eyes shut.

He released her to the bed a moment later, keeping his hips flush against hers so that he stayed inside her as she continued to pulse around him. Even as she slowly ground her hips into his, the only sound was their rapid breathing, and the moment her teeth released his hand, he captured her lips in a fiery kiss that left Lucy gasping even more for air.

"Now," Lucy continued to pant as Natsu dropped his forehead to her shoulder, sweat trickling down the side of his neck. "Is that what you had to talk to Gajeel about?"

Natsu frowned. "Please. I don't want to talk about Metal Head right now," he whined, only partly telling the truth. Then what they _had_ talked about came flooding back to him and he paled, the heat leaving him as he realized what they'd just done. Lucy immediately sensed something was off.

"Natsu?" she asked, leaning further into the bed to try and look at him.

Natsu's eyes were wide, unseeing as he stared at the sheets below him. He could still smell Lucy, her scent even stronger after their lovemaking and now pleasantly mixed with his own. Even so, panic gripped him. If he were a better man, he would have thrown himself away from her, left the sanctity he found within her the moment he realized their mistake (or really just not made the mistake in the first place), but he wasn't, and he didn't.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked again, true worry making her voice rise an octave and gain a harshness usually reserved for when he majorly screwed up.

"I-we-Gaj-fuck," he sighed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Luce, I…" No matter how hard he tried, the words wouldn't leave his mouth.

Worry truly gripping her, Lucy pushed Natsu back just enough that she could wriggle her hands free to cup his cheeks. He immediately closed his eyes and turned away; his chin tucked as though casting down his already closed eyes. She'd rarely seen him like this, and when she did it was never good. Cold fear replaced the pleasant heat of their lovemaking, and when he pulled away, reluctantly leaving her to sit back on his knees, she followed him, only partly relieved when he covered her hands with his own. "I fucked up, Luce."

Her eyes searched his, the orange glow of his fire gone from their emerald depths. "What do you mean?"

Not sure how to say it, he placed his right hand on her belly, where he so often found it when she smelled so strongly of _her_. Now that he knew what it meant, it seemed so obvious, and he cringed.

Lucy wasn't sure what he was doing, her eyes following his hand before she placed a hand over it, gently rubbing her thumb along the backs of his knuckles as her mind raced. It was so rare for Natsu to not know what to say, to flat out admit that he did something wrong. Then he smoothed his thumb over her skin and the meaning clicked, her mind finally thinking back to the calendar. There was no hiding it from him when she realized what they had done – he picked it up in her heart rate and the change in her scent. A dark part of her mind, part of her that was still the trapped Lucy Heartfilia, heir to the Heartfilia fortune, wanted to turn the information around; wanted to see it as Natsu's way to satisfy whatever craving he'd had and be done, that he'd only done this because of whatever Gajeel said. But the part of her that _knew_ Natsu, that loved him and trusted him more than anyone else, knew that was impossible. If something came of this, he'd be there without her asking. Tears stung her eyes as she sighed and sat back, Natsu following her and turning to wrap an arm around her shoulder.

"I guess we could have been a little more cautious," she whispered, not able to meet his gaze.

Pulling the sheet over his lap to cover his nakedness (and at least part of Lucy's), Natsu nodded. "I should have realized," he started.

Lucy hushed him with a quick smack to the chest. "Oh, stop it. This isn't all on you." She smiled when he looked at her with a furrowed brow. "Besides, does any of that even work on you, anyway?"

Natsu was surprisingly shocked by her question. It was something he'd never thought of before, at least not consciously, and of course he hadn't thought to ask Gajeel – he didn't want to owe him any more favors or learn any more about the Iron Dragon Slayer's sex life, for that matter. Closing his eyes tight, his brow creasing, he tried to think, tried to remember anything Igneel had passed down to him that might prove useful. Eventually, something did, and his eyes snapped open. "No," he breathed, his words light and airy in disbelief.

"What?!" Lucy all but shrieked, expecting and yet _not expecting_ such an answer.

"Physical barriers don't work on us," he reluctantly admitted. Despite their recent activities, heat still flooded his cheeks when he added, "We burst right through them."

Oddly enough, Lucy laughed. A full-on belly laugh that brought tears to her eyes and had her falling back in the bed until she was gasping for air. "O-of-of course!" she managed to get out between fits of laughter. "Of course they wouldn't!"

Natsu looked at her with true concern written across his features, his salmon-colored hair spilled wild and crazy across his forehead as his eyebrows furrowed. "And… that's funny?"

Forcing herself to stop, Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes before pulling him down beside her. "There's nothing we could have done, Natsu. Well, I mean, there is, if we just hadn't done it in the first place, but I don't think there was going to be any stopping that. If I was on the pill, that would have helped, but I'm not because why would I be when I wasn't expecting anything like this because we aren't even dating or a couple or anything official like that. Not that I'm saying we have to be now that we've done this, it's just that would have potentially had me on them ahead of time and they take time to work so even if we were, it wouldn't have happened like this and besides, I don't even know where I would have gotten them without Erza finding out and trying to kill me, or you and then where would we be?" She stopped only because she ran out of air, gasping with wide eyes as Natsu gripped both shoulders firmly in his hands.

"Luce! Calm down!"

For once she listened, her mouth snapping shut as she looked up into his eyes – eyes that were flashing with orange once more in the darkness that surrounded them. Despite her little rant, she felt calm; if it was possible to be nervous and calm at the same time based on the rapid beat of her heart. Of course, potential consequences could come of what happened between them, and while there _was_ something she could do about it either way, she didn't want to. She loved any and all parts of Natsu, which of course would include any children the wild man might father. Doing something to prevent that after the fact or _undo_ such a thing seemed completely and utterly wrong. Unbidden, her hand fell to her womb, where Natsu's had been resting, and she smiled. "I am calm, Natsu."

He frowned, his brows drawing down in confusion as his eyes flickered between hers. He'd felt the tension leave her as she smiled, could see the gears turning in her head, but didn't know what "solution" she'd come to. "You are?" he finally asked, cocking his head to the side in his confusion.

Her other hand made its way to Natsu's cheek, gently running her thumb along the smooth skin beneath his eye. He rewarded her when he leaned into her touch, the concern slowly leaving his face as she eased it. "Yes," she breathed. "No matter what happens, we'll be fine. I know we will."

For the first time, Natsu's eyes blurred, images flashing that were both murky and yet clear. He saw little versions of himself and Lucy – a girl with wild pink hair and a boy with blonde hair that matched Lucy's – and was surprised at the ache in his chest at the thought. He saw her with a rounded belly and pregnant, saw his own hands wrapped around her, touching what they'd made together, and a surge of protectiveness ran through him so fiercely he shuddered. He'd never truly given much thought to children, not even when playing house with Lisanna and having Happy as their "baby". He never knew he wanted something so much in his life, but suddenly the thought was not scary or impossible. If anything, it made his blood heat even more as Lucy's scent surrounded him once again. Knowing that she felt the same, only made his heart fly lightly, threatening to free itself from the confines of his chest as he smiled brightly, pulling her back into his arms. "Of course we will be," he breathed before kissing her once more.

* * *

_A/N: A small caveat: Please do not take what was said in the ending as my stance on pro-choice or pro-life. It simply was how the thought would have occurred to Lucy in _this_ story, and nothing more._

_As always, I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters. They all belong to the brilliant Hiro Mashima. _


End file.
